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Saturday, October 24, 2009

OK, so being on the road does afford me the opportunity to see things that are, by nature, different than what I normally experience in and around the New Jersey/New York region. But, I’ll admit, the scene I saw on a Montreal sidewalk today was one of those, I-never-thought-I’d-see-that moments. There was a Hare Krishna danceathon on a street corner, the whole scene you’d expect. And, right in the middle, were two dancing giant BlackBerrys. I guess there was a BlackBerry promotion going on at one of the stores because there were several people dressed as BlackBerrys up and down the rue. But two decided to join in with the dancing.

Strange.

Teams are going through their pre-game warmups here and, as expected, there’s no Donald Brashear in sight.

Things to watch tonight:
- How Scott Gomez fares in his first game against the Rangers
- How Christopher Higgins (without a goal this season and without a point in his last eight games) fares in his first game against the Canadiens.
- Can the Rangers snap a two-game losing streak?
- Can the Rangers generate shots on goal. The Canadiens have been stingy, allowing 23 or fewer in their previous five games.
- Can the Rangers score on the power play. They have at least one power play goal in their last eight games.

Live updates coming. Enjoy the game.————————————————————————————————————
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Enver Lisin will start the game on the left wing of Vinny Prospal’s top line with Marian Gaborik. The 23-year-old Russian couldn’t hide his excitement following the morning skate.

“It means you have to work even harder,” said Lisin, who has two goals and three assists this season and had a two-game goal streak snapped in Thursday’s 4-2 loss to the Devils. “It’s a good opportunity for me. That’s what I’m working for, trying to show my game.”

Lisin said he received some ice time last season on the Coyotes’ top line with Olli Jokinen. And Lisin noted that, in his opinion, Russian players typically are not third- or fourth-line players. Lisin believes it speaks to a difference in how they game is taught in his home country and in North America.

“Usually, Russian players in this league play on the top lines,” Lisin said. “In Russia, in the KHL, teams don’t have a checking line. All four lines are skilled players. Here, it’s a little different. We’ll see in the Olympic games. The Russian coach said he’ll have four first lines.———————————————————————————————————————-
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Had a good time catching up with ex-Rangers Scott Gomez and Paul Mara after the Canadiens’ morning skate. Gomez was quick on and off the ice and never did come into the dressing room. Instead, he chatted in a hallway on his way out the building. Mara was at his stall, as chipper and upbeat as ever, though his beard is a bit trimmed for now.

Both said a few of the same things: they enjoyed their time with the Rangers, think it’s a great organization, aren’t necessarily surprised to not be there this season and there’s a lack of anonymity in being a hockey player in Montreal.

“It’s like playing with the Yankees in New York,” Mara said.

“It’s different being in a hockey atmosphere as far as being in a Canadian city,” Gomez said. “It took a little bit to get adjusted to but it’s been great.”——————————————————————————————————————————
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Based on the optional morning skate here at the Bell Centre, Donald Brashear will miss his second straight game after sitting out Thursday’s 4-2 loss to the Devils with soreness. He was the last Rangers’ skater on the ice, working with backup goalie Steve Valiquette.

Henrik Lundqvist, no surprise, gets the start in net for the Rangers. In a slight surprise, the Canadiens will go with Jaroslav Halak over Carey Price. It will be the third straight start for the 24-year-old Halak, in his third NHL season, over the 22-year-old Price, also in his third NHL season but considered Montreal’s established starter going into the season. Halak made 21 saves in a 5-1 win over the Islanders Thursday and 22 saves in a 2-1 shootout win over the Thrashers two days earlier.

Not 100 percent sure about all four of the Rangers lines and defense pairings (due to optional) but I do know Enver Lisin will start on the top line with center Vinny Prospal and RW Marian Gaborik. And the fourth line will be rookie C Artem Anisimov centering LW Brian Boyle (who has been the fourth line center) and RW Aaron Voros. All eyes, though, on Christopher Higgins tonight as he makes his return to Montreal still looking for his first goal of the season. Coach John Tortorella, who obviously has to remain optimistic about Higgins contributing to the Rangers this season, said he suspects being back at the Bell Centre may spark something in Higgins.

Tortorella wouldn’t commit to his defense pairings for the whole game but did say Marc Staal and Dan Girardi would at least start together even though he’s talked to both of them about their inconsistencies. At the same Tortorella said he very well break up the pairings once the game begins if it’s more of the same. If that happens, expect this:
Michael Del Zotto-Michal Rozsival (which remains the same)
Wade Redden-Dan Girardi (the two were together for a good stint last season)
Marc Staal-Matt Gilroy

More coming on ex-Rangers Scott Gomez and Paul Mara (both happy to be in Montreal and not surprised to be out of New York) and Lisin’s thoughts on playing on the top line.——————————————————————————————————————————
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Have arrived safely in my Montreal hotel after a surprisingly quick 51/2-hour drive from house. Only hitch came at the border, when the customs agent asked me, both in English and French where I lived. For some reason, I didn’t understand what he had said in either language. For some inexplicable reason, I answered “Como esta?” And for absolutely no reason at all, I thought I was telling him I didn’t understand.

The customs agent was, understandably, a little confused. It looked like he was getting ready to pull the trigger on a wider search of the car. Luckily, he found out I was a sports writer headed to Montreal to cover tomorrow night’s game. Once that was confirmed by showing him my NHL media card, he really just wanted to talk hockey and get predictions on the game.

Border crisis averted.

Habs skate tomorrow at 10:30 at the Bell Centre, just down the block from the hotel, and the Rangers are due on the ice at 11:30. Obviously, plenty more where this came from.———————————————————————————————————————
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About

ANDREW GROSS covers the New York Rangers for The Record and Herald News, having joined the North Jersey Media Group in November 2007. Gross also covered the Rangers and New York Jets, as well as St. John’s basketball and Army football, for Gannett Newspapers and The Journal News (N.Y.). He graduated from Syracuse University in 1989 with a degree in newspaper journalism.